How to watch the match between the Huskers and Jackrabbits; plus who didn't put NU No. 1 on their ballot and the leaders for the year's team.
Nebraska got a brief respite from the road on Monday, but by Tuesday afternoon the Huskers were back on the road.
The Huskers spent most of the past week on the road with an exhibition match in Arlington, Texas, before going directly to Las Vegas for a pair of matches.
NU took a brief flight north to South Dakota for its Wednesday night match in Brookings against South Dakota State. They will then head to Chicago later this week for a pair of matches.
After sweeping Texas on Sunday, NU coach Dani Busboom Kelly said it would be good to spend time at home, even if it was for a brief stop.
“It’s going to be a crazy week,” she said. “Maybe these opponents aren’t top five, top 10 opponents, but we’re putting our team in situations that are going to create a little adversity. This first week was all over the place, but it’s good to work through that, and not let little things bother us, and make sure we can adjust.”
Much like the Huskers’ spring match against Iowa State in Sioux Falls, this match will be a homecoming for senior setter Bergen Reilly. She grew up in Sioux Falls, about 60 miles south of the SDSU campus.
Tickets for the match sold out in minutes for the 5,000-seat arena, and the school is planning a Blue Out. The match will break the attendance record of 2,853 fans, which was against Kansas City during the grand opening of the First Bank & Trust Arena on October 3, 2024.
How to Watch
MidCo Sports, a regional cable company in the Dakotas, is the only broadcaster. Fans can buy a single-game pass for $10. The match is also carried on the Nebraska Radio Network.
Scouting the Jackrabbits
SDSU opened the season going 1-2 at the Pepperdine Tournament. The Jackrabbits outlasted Sacramento State in five sets before getting swept by the hosts and falling to Villanova in five. The final match of the weekend was an offensive shootout as SDSU hit .340 while the Wildcats posted a .374 hitting percentage.
The Jacks are led by two-time Summit League Player of the Year Sylvie Zgonc. She put up 23 kills against Sacramento State to open the year. After a nine-kill performance against Pepperdine, she bounced back with a 22-kill, 13-dig performance against Villanova. Zgonc was named the Summit League Volleyball Peak Performer of the Week.
Senior setter Rylee Martin was an all-conference selection last season and is climbing her way up the SDSU all-time charts for assists. She splits time at setter with Brooke Larsen, who also has 17 kills, nine blocks and 27 digs. Hannah Klein is averaging 2.69 kills per set after setting a career-high with 18 kills against Villanova.
This will be the third all-time meeting between the programs, with the last matchup coming in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament in Lincoln. The Huskers swept that match and won 2-1 when the teams played in 1975. The programs also played an exhibition match in Ord in spring 2025. SDSU also played in the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Devaney Center, but lost to Miami in the first round.
SDSU assistant coach Cole Aiazzi was a graduate assistant at Nebraska in 2016 under John Cook and Busboom Kelly, who was then an assistant coach. NU assistant coach Kelly Natter was also the setter on the 2016 team.
The Jacks are the first-ever Summit League team to host the No. 1-ranked team in the country and the first to play the top-ranked team since 2000.
DBK on the Radio
In this week’s AVCA Coaches Poll, Nebraska received 57 of the 63 first-place votes. During her weekly radio show, Busboom Kelly said that she was one of six people who did not have the Huskers atop their ballot. She said she voted for Pittsburgh No. 1.
The Panthers opened the season with a 3-1 win over No. 3 Kentucky and sweeps against Xavier, No. 16 Kansas and No. 5 Wisconsin.
“Their schedule has been really tough, and they look great, and we have a little more to approve,” she said. “Granted, they got to do the (AVCA) First Serve, so they got that extra week of volleyball, but I thought that was worth the No. 1 vote.”
Busboom Kelly said she wasn’t worried about Virginia Adriano hitting .136 after the first two matches. She said the more important stat is kill percentage, and the sophomore opposite has eight kills on 22 swings.
Junior Skyler Pierce played a few points against Texas on the right pin and will likely get more time there in the future. Busboom Kelly said this week’s matches are a good time to build the Huskers’ depth and see new lineups.
“It was not her best opening weekend, but she played great in Dallas. I think we have options there, but we also know the ceiling Virginia has, and she’s got a pretty powerful arm,” she said. “We’ll probably see what some other players can do. But I think Virginia is going to be just fine.”
The Huskers won’t take a new vote on team leadership this season with co-captains Bergen Reilly and Andi Jackson returning. Busboom Kelly said all four seniors (including Harper Murray and Laney Choboy) will play an important role in leading the team this season, whether or not they have the official title of captain.
“Bergen and Andi are returning, but because I also think it’s senior-led, and Lainey and Harper are a big, big piece of our leadership,” she said. “These guys are the captains. These seniors need to lead this team together.”
